Happy 2017!

This is my prayer and invocation for 2017. Blessed be!

Mother, Father, God, Universal Power
Remind us daily of the sanctity of all life

Touch our hearts with the glorious oneness of all creation,
As we strive to respect all the living beings on this planet.

Penetrate our souls with the beauty of this earth,
As we attune ourselves to the rhythm and flow of the seasons.

Awaken our minds with the knowledge to achieve a world in perfect harmony
And grant us the wisdom to realize that we can have heaven on earth.

~ Jo Poore

waiting to go on | David Whyte

…It must be

we are waiting
for the perfect moment.
It must be
under all the struggle
we want to go on.
It must be,
that deep
down
we are creatures
getting ready
for when we are needed.

2016 : the winter of my discontent

By my count, today is truly a dark day in the history of America to date.

Make no mistake, I am not referring to winter solstice. 

Against all our hopes and prayers the Hamilton Electors and the US Electoral College failed to overturn votes and turn the tide. 

This was our last line of defense. What we all hoped and prayed for.  

And so Donald J. Trump steps into office as the 45th President of the United States.

sunrise, sunset

Back in the East once again for the holidays, I look to the skies and am uplifted.

Even jet lag has its advantages if it wakes me as the sun peeps over the horizon.

Painting the sky in glorious hues and unsurpassed palettes.

world wide web vs the war on words

Why do people turn to the internet - the Wild West World of information and misinformation - where we can judge each story for our self?

Why do we profess to be such know it alls when clearly we do not know what we do not know.

Blinded by belief in our knowledge of self, we stumble and storm, grapple and grope, so sure we know what we are doing.

HA! Such entitled foolish behavior is so tragic and dangerous.

Farewell, America

As I pack my bags to fly off for the winter, I can't seem to get out of Dodge soon enough. Asta la vista, 2016 - good riddance!

You've been a true pill of a year and I am eager to purge you out of my system for good.

I am one with Neal Gabler, who writes - [read his full article here]

Whatever place we now live in is not the same place it was on Nov. 7. No matter how the rest of the world looked at us on Nov. 7, they will now look at us differently. We are likely to be a pariah country.

The sun sets behind the Jefferson Memorial in Washington. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

And we are lost for it. As I surveyed the ruin of that country this gray Wednesday morning, I found weary consolation in W.H. Auden’s poem, September 1, 1939, which concludes:

“Defenseless under the night

Our world in stupor lies;

Yet, dotted everywhere,

Ironic points of light

Flash out wherever the Just

Exchange their messages:

May I, composed like them

Of Eros and of dust,

Beleaguered by the same

Negation and despair,

Show an affirming flame.”

We all now hunt for that affirming flame.

let's get ourselves into some good trouble

Today is Thanksgiving Day and this is the prayer I offer up for us all.

"With due respect for the colored ribbons we’ve worn for various solidarities, our next step is to wear something on our sleeve that takes actual courage: our hearts." ~ Barbara Kingsolver 

Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist and poet - a woman of substance who I have admired and followed for decades.